Archinect - Features

'Everyone Talks About Silver Linings, It's Hard to Talk About Opportunities': A Conversation with Elizabeth Leber, Managing Partner at Beyer Blinder Belle

2022-02-01T12:01:00-05:00

"In times of crisis and seismic moments come great opportunities for how you reshape who you are and how your employees view you. You begin to reshape your values, and for me, becoming a Managing Partner was an important time." These are the words of Elizbeth Leber, Managing Partner at Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB). When we connected via Zoom on a Tuesday morning in January, our conversation developed into a wonderful chat about unconventional paths to architecture, her love for art history and adaptive reuse, and the importance of taking off your headphones.

Now that we're in the year 2022, practitioners continue to make efforts towards re-envisioning what a firm leader looks like. While women have resiliently changed and challenged the field of architecture for decades, Beyer Blinder Belle's Elizabeth Leber is no exception. “Any business leader needs to have empathy and the ability to identify with our clients and our staff,” expressed Elizabeth, “It’s important to remember that each...

Shepley Bulfinch Talks About the Post-Covid Office, Diversity, Firm Leadership, and Serving Both Employee and Client

2021-11-17T13:23:00-05:00

It's nearing the two-year mark since the pandemic forced businesses to stop, reassess, and plan viable steps for their employees and clients. The team at Archinect has kept close tabs on the industry and how the architecture community has been impacted as well as responded to drastic changes happening across the industry. As 2021 slowly comes to a close, we have spent time reaching out to firms to learn more about how offices are approaching adjusted workflows, staying connected to their teams, and how firms are staying transparent with their goals entering 2022.

For the latest post-pandemic installment of Archinect’s Studio Snapshots, we connected with Shepley Bulfinch's President and CEO Angela Watson, FAIA. Since the firm's establishment in 1874, it has survived "the Great Depression, multiple wars, civil unrest, and massive technological changes," as Watson shared. This level of business acumen and survival is met with progress in the firm's team, portfolio, and, most importan...

A Conversation with Trey Trahan, FAIA, Architecture’s Business-centric Polymath

2020-08-31T13:54:00-04:00

Archinect first connected with Trey Trahan back in 2008 for an enlightening interview about architecture, design, and the origins of his practice, Trahan Architects. Perhaps one of the most intriguing things about Trey are his inherent polymathic qualities. He is a true modern renaissance man. While the design leader has reached undoubted success in the architecture industry, he has also developed a deep and profound relationship with art, drawing inspiration from his personal collection in many areas of his business and architectural work.

Business is a craft for Trey, something to be mastered and thoughtfully practiced. There is a holistic approach to life, with service to people and the community as the focus, and architecture, business, leadership, and art as vehicles to facilitate that service. Here 12 years after our first meeting, we connect with the architect again, for a discussion about leadership, creative philosophy, art, the recent pandemic, and architecture’s more pro...

Working With Stressed Coworkers During COVID-19

2020-04-24T09:16:00-04:00

Amid COVID-19, the rise of remote work has forced many professionals to upheave their old way of life for an unfamiliar "new normal." While several have risen to the occasion, plenty still face trials navigating this new collaborative dynamic. Particularly when it comes to coworkers under immense pressure during this time, staff in many firms have begun to see a different side to their fellow team members. It can be easy to forget that our coworkers are people with a whole life outside of work. They have families, loved ones, hopes, dreams, and fears, just like we do.

So, how does one deal with stressed coworkers during COVID-19? It could be a leader who is a bit brash, or who has left you to fend for yourself, with little direction or clarity on how to move forward. Or it could be a coworker who seems to be sabotaging the work you and the rest of the team are working on. It can take many forms. The common denominator are coworkers who are out of character, over-emotional, or even, ...

Want To Get Your Architecture Work Published? Here Are 6 Pro Tips For Crafting The Perfect Pitch

2020-04-20T13:56:00-04:00

Having published work is a big part of marketing an architecture practice. The more people who are exposed to your design work, the more opportunity you'll have to promote your expertise and services. Publications like Archinect are go-to destinations for the industry and design enthusiasts.

With many millions of page views every month, Archinect receives countless project pitches from firms, individuals and PR companies. Some of those pitches are well prepared and well received, while others are poorly prepared and either ignored or forgotten. If you want your work to catch the eye of editors, heightening your chances of getting your work published, you'll want to consider these pro tips.

How CO Architects Transitioned a 110+ Team to Work From Home

2020-04-01T12:51:00-04:00

We’ve been able to dive into various perspectives on remote work in architecture. More recently, we heard from Leah Alissa Bayer and Jennifer Kretchmer on running a fully virtual architectural practice. Further back, we connected with Diana Nicklaus of Saam Architecture to learn from her insights on “radical flexibility” and running a remote firm in Boston. But, what about firms who have had to shift their model from in-person to fully remote? And what about large practices? Our previous investigations have looked at important strategies and methods to successful virtual management, but those insights have all come from architects who already have had remote work models in place. Moreover, our previous explorations looked more at smaller-sized practices.

In this discussion, from Thursday, March 19th, I connected with Scott Kelsey, FAIA, the managing principal over at CO Architects to discuss how he and the rest of the leadership at the Los Angeles-based practice navigated this rapid...

Managing a Virtual Design Studio with Leah Alissa Bayer

2020-03-24T12:59:00-04:00

As we continue our investigation of virtual practice in architecture, the diverse range of insights and approaches represented attest to the creative spirit of the architectural profession. We recently spoke with Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA, founder of J Kretschmer Architect, a fully virtual architectural practice. We learned valuable insights from Kretschmer’s experience in virtual practice prior to this pandemic.

Today we connect with another professional who manages an entirely virtual team. Leah Alissa Bayer is a licensed architect in California, Washington, and Hawaii. She is the founder and studio director of EVIA Studio, a fully virtual research-based architecture and consulting firm in Silicon Valley. Leah’s portfolio includes multi-family housing, high-end custom residential, master planning, and workplace design. Before founding her own studio, Leah worked as an Architect at Perkins and Will in San Francisco.

In this discussion, we learn from Leah’s experience in running a v...

Running a Virtual Architecture Practice With Jennifer Kretschmer

2020-03-17T13:23:00-04:00

With drastic measures underway to mitigate the novel COVID-19 pandemic, many architects are transitioning to remote work. Firms, both large and small, are making the shift towards a virtual practice, and for many, the move brings new terrain. Remote work has been a topic of discussion for quite some time, but there has always been a certain stigma in its relationship to architectural practice. Is this a feasible way for the design community to work?

As the industry continues to run this compelled experiment, we may soon find out. But, in the meantime, we know the integration of remote work is not novel to architecture. Just recently, Archinect connected with Diana Nicklaus, co-founder and principal at Saam Architecture, to discuss the firm’s remote work model and the fluidity with which it has been able to operate. And as we continue our investigation into the tools and tactics of the virtual office, this week we talk to Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA, founder of J Kretschmer Architect.

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Exploring Remote Work and 'Radical Flexibility' in Architecture With Diana Nicklaus

2020-01-30T09:26:00-05:00

Alternative work models have been a topic of much discussion within many professions. Architecture isn’t any different. With talks of 4 day work weeks, addressing burnout, and providing healthy flexibility for modern professionals to navigate their personal lives, alternative ways of working are pushing to the forefront of workplace discussions. What about working remotely? It may seem to be an impossibility in this fast-paced and demanding profession, but Boston-based Saam Architecture has been running strong for years on a remote work model, operating under an ideology they’ve called radical flexibility. Archinect had the pleasure to connect with Principal and Co-founder of Saam, Diana Nicklaus to discuss her team’s unique operational structure, the challenges that come with it, and how radical flexibility can augment the way design professionals work together.